by Dennis DeHart

Special to the Islands’ Sounder

Why do people volunteer?

I found myself asking this question, when in 1997 I decided to “volunteer” with the Corporation for National Service/Americorps. As a volunteer, I primarily worked with elders and children in inner city schools for two years. Little did I know at the time that volunteering would mean receiving more than I was giving. It also was integral to my connecting with a unique community of individuals, who otherwise I would have never have had the opportunity to meet.

Don’t get me wrong, though. It was often hard. I wanted to do something meaningful, but “meaningful” often meant doing the most banal of tasks, while at other times participating in some of the more interesting and lasting moments of my 20s.

Over the past four months I have had the opportunity to be on the other side of volunteerism as one of the families participating in the Homes for Islanders Project Woodlands Estate near Rosario. During these past four months, I have met a retired foreign service worker, doctors, mothers, daughters, a financial consultant, a plethora of builders and contractors, retirees, firefighters, a Reiki master, teachers, real estate agents, caretakers, philanthropists, brothers, sisters, cousins – the list goes on, as you can imagine.

Each of these volunteers has contributed something meaningful. Some have come for one hour, others consistently two days a week. Everyone comes willing and ready to contribute. We literally would not be able to do this without your help. Homes for Islanders is helping working people – builders, medical workers, store clerks, mothers, electricians, apartment managers, house painters, artists, grandmothers, firefighters, house cleaners, educators – continue to live on the island while raising the overall quality of housing for the community and families in these homes.

So once again, why volunteer? Thinking back to my training as a volunteer coordinator (one of the many task I did in Americorps) I learned that people volunteer for a variety of reasons, some obvious, others a surprise. So the answer, perhaps, is that the reason we volunteer is as diverse as the individuals who make up our island community. But no matter why you volunteer, no matter your skills, no matter your reasons, your contribution is always meaningful.

To volunter

Call Homes For Islanders at 370-5944 or leave a message at the job site at 376-1073.